After opening Big Sky play with dominant wins over Idaho State and Sacramento State in mid-March, the Idaho men’s tennis team hit a difficult stretch.
The Vandals dropped five consecutive matches following their 2-0 conference start, falling to 2-3 in Big Sky play and slipping down the standings before regrouping late in the season to secure a postseason spot.
The slide began during a spring break weekend homestand against Montana and Montana State, where Idaho suffered back-to-back 4-3 losses inside the P1FCU Kibbie Dome.
Against Montana on March 20, the Vandals found themselves in an unfamiliar situation, as they fell into an early hole after dropping the doubles point. Montana secured wins on courts one and three to maintain the early advantage, putting pressure on Idaho in singles play.
The Vandals responded with resilience. Wins from Chetanna Amadike on court one, Gabriel Moroder on court four and Eric Wang on court five evened the match at 3-3. With the dual hanging in the balance, all eyes turned to court six, where Montana’s Moritz Lesjak defeated Xavier Martin Roca to clinch a 4-3 victory for the Grizzlies and hand Idaho its first conference loss of the season.
The following day brought a similar script against Montana State. Idaho opened strong, securing the doubles point behind victories from Sander Paradis and Mikolaj Lis on court one and Amadike and Moroder on court two. The Vandals carried that momentum into singles play, with Amadike earning a straight-set win at the no. 1 position to give Idaho an early 2-0 lead.
Montana State quickly answered. Straight-set wins on courts two and three evened the score at 2-2 before Moroder delivered a clutch three-set victory on court four to push Idaho back in front, 3-2.
Once again, the dual came down to the final matches. The Bobcats tied the score at 3-3 with a win on court five before clinching the match on court six, where Max Calaquian defeated Noe De Col in three sets to hand Idaho another 4-3 defeat.
The pair of losses marked the end of Idaho’s home schedule and sent the Vandals on the road searching for answers.
Facing Portland State on April 5, Idaho adjusted its lineup due to injuries but was unable to find traction in singles play. Despite securing the doubles point with wins from De Col and Lis on court two and from Paul Janson and Wang on court three, the Vandals were swept in all six singles matches, falling 6-1.
The next day against Portland, Idaho again fell behind early after dropping the doubles point. Lis provided a bright spot with a singles victory on court three to briefly tie the match, but the Pilots won four consecutive singles matches to take control. De Col added a second point with a straight-set win, but Idaho ultimately fell 5-2.
The Vandals showed improvement in a tightly contested matchup against Utah on April 10, pushing the Utes to their limit before falling 4-3.
Idaho claimed the doubles point with wins from the duo of Amadike and Moroder, as well as De Col and Lis. In singles, Amadike continued his strong season with a win on court one, while Lis battled back from a first-set tiebreak loss to dominate the final set 6-0 and secure another point for Idaho.
However, Utah captured four singles victories to edge out the Vandals in another narrow defeat.
Despite the skid, Idaho responded when it mattered most. In a critical conference matchup against Weber State, with postseason implications on the line, the Vandals delivered one of their most complete performances of the season.
Idaho once again secured the doubles point, highlighted by a dominant 6-1 win from Janson and Valentin Glasl on court three and a 7-5 clincher from Lis and De Col on court two.
In singles play, Amadike and Lis set the tone with straight-set victories on courts one and three. After Weber State picked up its lone point on court two, Idaho closed out the match in emphatic fashion. Moroder, Wang and De Col each battled through three-set matches to secure wins, sealing the 6-1 victory and clinching a spot in the Big Sky tournament.
With the win, Idaho improved to 3-3 in conference play. The Vandals are currently tied with Idaho State and Montana State for third place in the Big Sky, but the Bengals and Bobcats have a slightly better overall record than the Vandals.
Now, with one regular-season match remaining, Idaho will travel to Flagstaff to face conference-leading Northern Arizona on April 19. The Lumberjacks enter the matchup undefeated in Big Sky play, presenting Idaho with one final test before the postseason begins.